CHAPTER 53

Lorne shook his head as the newest trial tripped once again.

"Sorry, I'm okay, really. I'm fine."

They were walking through a forest on what looked to be an animal track it was so narrow. Jaffries was likeable and listened well to orders and was a decent shot on the range, but the man was clumsy and the more nervous he was the more of a klutz he was. That little tidbit wasn't in his file…yet.

They were on a new world and it was supposedly uninhabited. The mission was simple – of course – make sure it was safe for the scientists to come explore the ruins to their hearts content.

"So far nothing that looks like anything more than wildlife." Marshal said staying back from Jaffries so he wouldn't take her down with him again. Twice now he had stumbled, tripped, bumped into her taking them both down in a tangle of limbs. It didn't help that he flushed a bright red when, trying to get off of her, he had managed to grope her breast.

Forty minutes later they were at the ruins. He had only tangled into some vines twice in that timeframe.

"Reminds me of that abandoned estate back home. Folks always swearing they heard ballroom music late at night."

"B..ballroom m..mu…sic?"

"Yep. Knew one person swore they saw a room full of folks dancing one night."

"Perimeter check," Lorne barked after watching Jaffries' Adam's apple bob up and down several times. "Jaffries you're with Ericson."

"Yes, Sir."

Ericson sent Lorne a forlorn look. Lorne grinned at him. Marshal had Elrose. It was Ericson's turn to babysit and he shouldn't be trying to spook the klutz.

"Thank you," Marshal murmured sincerely as they walked in the opposite direction of Ericson and Jaffries.

"Figured you'd shoot him if he tripped into your chest one more time."

"He's lucky not to be dead already, Sir."

Lorne chuckled. In two hours Jaffries had bumped into her as well as Ericson several times and had tripped her twice because he had been too busy gawking to watch where he was walking. Lorne had escaped damage by maintaining a careful distance.

They were half way around their side when a gunshot rang out followed by a loud voice.

"Ericson, report." Lorne snapped into his radio.

"Jaffries tripped." Ericson cursed. "Again."

"Sorry, sorry." Lorne heard Jaffries apologizing. "I'm not usually so, um, uncoordinated."

Lorne met Marshal's dancing eyes. "Anyone hurt?" He asked with a grin.

"Not yet," Ericson growled. "Walk ten paces in front of me," he growled at the newbie.

After finishing the outer sweep they entered the ruins and cautiously checked out the interior. After he bumped into Marshal while looking around instead of looking where he was going, Lorne assigned him to guard outside.

"Alone, Sir?" He gulped his large Adam's apple bobbing up and down like a cork on the water.

"There isn't anything dangerous around, Jaffries." Lorne said with hard won patience. "If you see or hear anything that sounds remotely dangerous, let us know."

"Yes, Sir." Jaffries picked his way to the outer wall of the ruins and slowly began to make a perimeter check.

"What happened to the best being sent to Atlantis?" Ericson muttered as they moved deeper into the large ruins.

"Perhaps if someone who's been here were recruiting the newbies instead of some deskbound…"

"That would General O'Neill you're talking about." Lorne cut Marshal off.

Ericson grunted. "Now it makes sense." He had worked under O'Neill's command for awhile.

"How does sending Elrose and Jaffries make sense?" Marshal asked, confused.

"Their probably the ones O'Neill wishes he could shoot, but can't."

Lorne chuckled. That did sound like General O'Neill.

They surveyed the ruins and the immediate area until dusk began to fall rapidly.

Lorne clicked open the team channel. "Let's pack it up folks night's coming fast."

They started the long trek back through the forest dusk turning into night within minutes. Three lights popped on almost together with a fourth clicking on moments later.

"Sir, check at your 3 o'clock." Marshall called his attention to the lights.

Lorne looked over to his right and saw the dim glow. "Well, now that's interesting."

"Ghost lights?" Ericson queried.

"G...g…ghosts?" Jaffries stuttered.

Lorne shot a warning glance at Ericson.

Ericson pretended not to see it in the dark. "Yeah, ghost lights are known to lure the unsuspecting into bogs or sinkholes, etc. You know, the unhappy dead wanting company."

"Sergeant," Lorne snapped trying to keep his amusement under wraps.

"Sir?"

"Why don't you take point as we check out your ghost lights?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Jaffries will be right behind you."

Ericson sighed. "Yes, Sir."

They moved cautiously through the dense woods. The clouds scudded across the sky blocking the moons light, casting the landscape into complete darkness before revealing it dimly again. Shadows seemed to shift position with each set of clouds causing even the experienced to look around uneasily.

The night sounds seemed to take on an eerie, dangerous quality as they crept nearer to the glowing beacons.

In the narrow weapon's scope light they saw several pedestals set in an irregular semicircle. A misty light glowed from the top of each pedestal.

Ericson warily approached the opened end of the semicircle. Jaffries walked behind him, his head jerking from side to side as he watched the darkness around them.

An animal called out from the forest and Jaffries jerked around staring into the darkness as he backed up.

"Back off Jaffries," Ericson growled when Jaffries bump into him.

Lorne and Marshal chuckled as Jaffries jumped at Ericson's harsh reprimand.

Ericson stepped closer to the pedestals. A chorus of animal sounds made Jaffries twitch, stumble. He crashed into Ericson knocking him backwards.

Ericson landed hard. There was a crack and Ericson disappeared from view. Several thuds punctuated by 'umph' sounds and yelps of pain had Lorne and Marshal racing to the jagged hole in the ground.

Jaffries backed away from the gaping hole right into Lorne's path. Lorne tried to sidestep around him, tripped and landed hard with his head and shoulders over the hole. He felt himself slipping and thought Reanna is going to be pissed.

Marshal grabbed his legs while snapping, "Stay back before we all go down," at Jaffries. "You, Sir, are heavier than you look," she grunted as she struggled to pull Lorne back from the edge.

"Solid muscle, Sergeant." Lorne quipped.

"Uh huh," Marshal replied. She turned to Jaffries. "I expect a devout thank you for saving you from Reanna's ire. If Major Lorne here had fallen and been injured, she'd have put you in the infirmary."

Jaffries paled and bobbed his head. "Thank you, Sergeant."

Lorne grimaced at his team and panned his light down into the hole. The tight beam was diffused by particles of debris and dust in the air. He could make what appeared to be stairs winding down into the dark. He clicked his radio. "Ericson! Can you hear me?"

"Ericson." He tried twice more before he got an answer.

"I'm going to shoot him." Ericson finally growled painfully.

"I'm…"

"…sorry" They chorused.

Jaffries frowned and nodded unhappily.

"Anything broken, Sergeant?"

"Not obviously so, Sir. I hit my head hard several times on the way down. I feel sort of nauseous when I move."

"Okay, be still. We'll get you out."

"Did they stairs hold, Ericson or did they break on you?"

"They held," Ericson growled his voice promising dark retribution.

Lorne sighed. "We're going to pull the rest of the boards up. Alison and I will be down in a moment."

While he was waiting Ericson panned his scope light around and discovered that he was in a moderate sized cavern. Tunnels branched out in at least five directions. Chairs coated in dust and cobwebs were situated on each side of each tunnel. Sconces were mounted high on the walls between the chairs.

With a groan, Ericson got himself into a sitting position leaning back against the stair's railing. Hearing noises above him he shifted slightly and pointed his light up the curving staircase.

In the dark, he could barely make out the shapes of his team mates as they cautiously descended. As he moved the light he realized how lucky he had been. The boards had given out in the middle. If the stairs hadn't curved just so, he would have missed them and fell the entire distance instead of hitting stairs. Instead he had rolled and slid down.

It took Lorne and Marshal nearly half an hour to reach the bottom testing the steps and the railing as they went.

Ericson looked up at them. "Please assign him to guard the scientists we hate or to patrol the piers. Anything, anywhere away from us!"

Lorne nodded. "Definitely away from us. You ready to head up."

"Not really," he grimaced. "Can't stay here though and I think they need a larger research team." He panned his light around so they could see they room and the tunnels.

Alison whistled at the complexity of the structure. "I'd say."

Lorne walked over and shone the light down a couple of the tunnels the darkness swallowed up the light. "Definitely a job for a larger, better equipped team. Let's get Ericson out of here and get back to base."

"Yes, sir."

Ericson groaned as they pulled him to his feet. He pressed a hand to his head and swayed drunkenly.

Lorne pulled his arm over his shoulders and together they started the slow ascent with Marshal behind them to steady them if necessary.

"Do not knock me down these stairs, Jason." She yelped, putting her hand on his back, when Ericson wobbled about a quarter of the way up the staircase.

Ericson just groaned, "I feel sick."

"Let's stop a minute." Lorne ordered. They eased Ericson down gently. He clicked his radio. "Jaffries, how's it going up there?"

"Quiet, Sir. How's Sergeant Ericson?"

They could all hear the regret and worry in the young man's voice.

"Concussion has given him headache and he's a little wobbly, but it could have been a lot worse so he isn't complaining…much. We're about half way up so it won't be much longer. Let me know if anything happens."

"Yes, sir."

"He really isn't a bad sort." Ericson muttered.

"What?" Marshal gaped at him. "Sir, he's hit his head harder than we thought."

Lorne grinned at the bantering.

"Told me earlier he'd only been on two off-world missions before coming out here. Spent three weeks reading mission reports and I think it freaked him out."

"You might be right. Why don't we give him a few weeks to get used to things on base? Then we can revisit if we want to give him another go or not." Lorne said speculatively.

Alison looked at the two men as if they'd lost their minds. "I think I need to get you both to the infirmary."

Lorne laughed and stood up. "Well let's get going."

They managed to get the rest of the way without mishap. Jaffries stood at a distance from them being very still and very quiet.

"Sir, Atlantis called in a few minutes ago. I updated them on the situation. They offered to send a jumper and I…I said it might be best since the sergeant was concussed and nauseous."

"Good call, Corporal."

"Yeah, thanks." Ericson moaned. "Wasn't looking forward to an hour long hike."

"Major Lorne, this is